Delivering urgency in Ireland’s response to the climate crisis

SSE Renewables hosted a virtual round table discussion, engaging experts from across the energy sector, including within government, industry, and NGOs, to discern how the urgency evident in Ireland’s reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic can be instilled in its response to the climate crisis.

To what extent will the ambitious Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act and impending Climate Action Plan 2021 accelerate Ireland’s response to the climate crisis?

Brian Leddin

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act will significantly accelerate ambition. It is important to note that it is not the first piece of climate legislation that we have had, and I would commend my colleague on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, and former Environment Minister, Richard Bruton TD who kickstarted much of the good work in the last administration. We now have a very significant Climate Act, which is framework legislation that will guide the carbon budget process, alongside the annually revisable climate action plans. It remains to be seen how it will play out, but I think that there are a lot of safeguards in there, particularly the annually revisable climate action plans that will ensure that we are on track to meet the 2030 goal, as well as the 2050 goal.

Maria Ryan

SSE Renewables welcomes the Climate Act. What we now need is action, urgency, and resources in order to accelerate Ireland’s response to climate change. The carbon budgets must be ambitious. We cannot backload reductions to the end of the decade without the risk of missing our targets. The deployment of offshore wind offers a proven and effective way to accelerate our response to the climate crisis. We intend to deploy our first offshore windfarm at Arklow Bank by the middle of the decade. In the context of declining capacity in the Irish market, it makes even more sense to attempt to frontload the offshore capacity that is there. Both the Tánaiste and the Environment Minister have referenced offshore wind as being a major part of the solution, given we have some of the best offshore resources in the world. In relation to climate action plans, it is great that they will be annually revised. When we look back to the Climate Action Plan 2019, it included an interim target of 1GW of offshore by 2025 which seems to have been quietly abandoned. We must ensure that the climate action plans are tangible, very clear and focused on driving the delivery of interim targets.

Seán Kelly

I thank Brian for referencing the work of my colleague, Richard Bruton, with whom I undertook a lot of work in relation to the preparing the groundwork for the legislation. Now, with the support of the Greens in government, and with the agreed action plan, we will see rapid progress. This must embrace all sectors, not just renewable energy. It must include transport, energy, industry, and agriculture. There is no such thing as a free pass. Everyone has an obligation, and everyone has an opportunity. I would like to see that incorporated in the Government’s Climate Action Plan. The carbon budgets will be very important in putting money behind projects and encouraging investment. Offshore wind will have a major part to play but we must also explore the opportunity in relation to wave and tidal.

John Melvin

The electricity industry has been active and busy for the last decade in striving to meet the 2020 targets of 40 per cent and it is already active on the actions contained within Climate Action Plan 2019. With regard to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, as a creature of statute, CRU recognises that law is more powerful and more enduring than policy. Policy can be changed by government, whereas a change in law requires the Oireachtas. The Act describes the ultimate objective: a climate resilient, biodiversity rich and climate neutral economy by no later than 2050. The mention of 2050 is important in relation to the climate action plans as a firm long-term objective. It is important that the enduring nature of the Act and the long-term reporting contained within it will increase the likelihood that we will reach 2050 having achieved that goal. References to beyond 2030 within the Act will help us to deliver a more secure transition. Knowing what the ultimate goal is, people are more likely to invest.

Tanya Harrington

As a summer of extreme weather ebbs away, as we have experienced locally and observed globally, together with the ‘code red for humanity’ in the latest IPCC report, the case for broad and collective action on the climate crisis has been clarified, yet again. With time against us and action urgently required at individual, local, community, national and international levels, across our homes, workplaces and nations, action must be taken in the early years of this decade. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, as well as the Climate Action Plan, once it is published, will provide the necessary legislative and regulatory framework for action and accountability, but the rapid implementation of measures must be the focus of work wherever we have influence to bear.

Oisín Coghlan

The Climate Act is a gamechanger. because it contains most of the key principles that Friends of the Earth has campaigned for over the past 15 years. This includes putting our national targets into domestic law, which is a far stronger driver than international obligations or even new targets. It gives a real impetus and certainty for households and investors. Other elements of the Act are equally important, including the strengthened role for independent advisory and monitory experts in the form of the Climate Change Advisory Council [CCAC]. The requirement for annual plans and for the plans to be aligned to targets is essential. Through the strength and accountability cycle, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, will, based on the annual assessment from the CCAC, bring in the ministers of all the relevant departments and hold them to account for their performance. This is maturing and repetitive accountability that we need to hardwire climate policy into the system and to bring it into a space which is far more transparent than it has been in the last 20 years. The Climate Action Plan, therefore, should accelerate Ireland’s response to the climate crisis. It is supposed to be a doubling of the rate in reductions, even compared with Climate Action Plan 2019, which in itself was a vast improvement on the 2017 Plan. We describe this as the race of a lifetime; the race to eliminate all emissions quickly enough to prevent complete climate breakdown and fairly enough to leave no one behind.

What are the major obstacles inhibiting urgent and effective climate action in Ireland?

Oisín Coghlan

I believe inertia and vested interests are the two largest obstacles. Across 15 government departments, it will be difficult to remove inertia fast enough to give us the scale of change that we need, as rapidly as we need it. In terms of interests, there are both public and private organisations that have invested a lot in the status quo and who have over many years sought to dilute or delay action on climate. The change in law alters the dynamic significantly because it reframes the narrative to one where departments and their sectors are fighting for their share of the ‘pollution pie’. It should mean that the direction of travel is clearer and create an enabling environment for government to take decisions easier.

Seán Kelly

The planning system is a leading obstacle and one that is not being tackled. I believe that if a project is in the public good and it helps reduce emissions then a time limit should be set for a decision, with failure to do so resulting in award by default. Bureaucracy at government level is another inhibiting factor. Our performance on forestry, when compared to the rest of the EU, is a prime example of how rules and regulations make it difficult for stakeholders to engage and therefore, maximum benefit is not achieved. We cannot have a situation where actions, which are in the interest of the environment and of the public good, are avoided because of bureaucracy.

Tanya Harrington

Ireland is rightly viewed as a world leader in integration of renewable energy, thanks to excellent work by ESB Networks and EirGrid teams, but I think we have reached a point now where further decarbonisation of the energy sector will require significant investment in the grid and market systems to enable us to achieve our targets. Additionally, we need to think about how we manage the demand response and other technological solutions, particularly in the heat sector, in order to decarbonise further. We must acknowledge that our citizens and our children are ahead of government in championing climate change. We must fast track the removal of all planning or market-based obstacles to ensure rapid delivery of renewable energy technologies and utilise our collective minds and efforts.

Brian Leddin

I agree that our citizenry and our children are ahead of the establishment. I see a very business-as-usual approach within the institutions of the State and that is something that needs to be addressed. In tackling climate action, we need to do so in a way that respects citizens’ and communities’ rights, but the challenge will be undertaking this quickly. Historically, we have been very poor at community engagement and the reality is that if individuals or communities feel like they are being disenfranchised by climate action, then it will not work. We need good engagement with communities up and down the country to help them understand why these changes are necessary.

John Melvin

The most significant obstacles are social acceptance, the need to change our own behaviours and the need for more infrastructure. New, additional infrastructure is going to be necessary to make the energy transition and we will need more renewable and conventional generation if we are to meet demand. Change will be required and if we do not make those changes in a controlled way, then they will happen around us in an uncontrollable fashion. Behaviour is also an obstacle. My generation grew up in a time of cheap energy, but we must have a greater consciousness of the effect of our usage and our carbon footprint.

“There is a real opportunity for a green recovery by unlocking private investment in renewable energy. It is a win-win for the economy, for the environment and for the capacity challenges that we are having.”
— Maria Ryan

Maria Ryan

There have been many positive developments to date, but we are now experiencing delays across the energy sector. The Maritime Area Planning [MAP] Bill and the RESS-2 auctions are welcome developments, but they are experiencing delays. We have been waiting for the Wind Energy Development Guidelines for 18 months now. These need to be delivered. With the progression of the MAP Bill, it is important to note that we are aiming for delivery of additional renewable energy and the creation of an industry, in parallel. That is a huge amount of work, and all government departments and statutory bodies must be fully aligned and resourced if we are to deliver 5GW of offshore wind and double our onshore wind by the end of the decade. In particular, this target will require the processing of a large amount of planning applications and associated consultation. There is already evidence of a resourcing challenge, An Bord Pleanála (ABP) has a statutory objective of making decisions in 18 weeks which are often not met. There is an opportunity to create a dedicated renewable energy unit within An Bord Pleanála to address this. Misalignment between local and national planning policy is another obstacle we see in relation to planning and we welcome the role the newly formed Office of the Planning Regulator has played to date in scrutinising plans.

Additionally, something that does not get raised often is the repowering of projects. By 2030 there will be in the region of 1,400MW worth of generation infrastructure, approximately 25 per cent, reaching the 20-year age bracket. The RESS terms and conditions are looking for any repowering projects to achieve a capacity increase of 50 per cent. That is not practical, and it says to me that how repowering is going to work has not actually been fully thought through. If we start dropping MW from the system, then our gap to the 70 per cent target is going to only get bigger.

What lessons from the Covid experience can be applied to Ireland’s climate emergency response?

Séan Kelly

Firstly, the need to act quickly and secondly, the need to engage citizens. The risk to public health saw Irish people accept unprecedented measures during the pandemic and that was aided by good leadership and effective explanation. As a result, individuals recognised they had a role to play. This can be transferred to the climate crisis. Finally, taking vaccinations as an example, we as a country can be proud that we strived to be at the top of any comparisons with other EU member states and that is something we must take with us in taking climate action.

Oisín Coghlan

During the pandemic we still heard the legitimate concerns of industry and others, but we privileged the public interest over those sectoral interests, and we followed the science. In doing that, we supported those who had their short-term profits and employee livelihoods impacted by the measures required. Some of those lessons can be transferred. However, a comparison between the pandemic and the climate crisis has limitations because the perception of threat is different. The mindset is changing but the threat of climate change is not as immediate. I think individual responsibility is often overplayed in relation to climate. A lot of what needs to be done is about systems change, led by government, making less-polluting options accessible and affordable to all.

“We must fast track the removal of all planning or market-based obstacles to ensure rapid delivery of renewable energy technologies and utilise our collective minds and efforts.”
— Tanya Harrington

Tanya Harrington

Throughout the pandemic we showcased our strength for collective care, we adopted a people-centred approach, prioritising the vulnerable and we leaned on the science, being guided by expertise. Those learnings will be important, as will lessons relating to communication. The manner in which NPHET, the Government, and the media articulated public health communications in a clear and concise fashion is commendable and it strikes me that a climate communication strategy would have benefit from a similar approach. I think we would do well to establish a ‘NPHET’ for climate action, which communicates the science on a daily basis, identifies immediate and ready-made solutions for member states and citizens, prioritises the most vulnerable and communicates tirelessly progress to targets.

Maria Ryan

The pandemic showcased how quickly government could mobilise to address a significant crisis. The importance of cross-government coordination was highlighted. As such, it is welcome that the Climate Act supports this coordination in relation to decarbonisation. However, ensuring departments are responsible for delivery and that sufficient resources are being made available is crucial because an all-of-government response is required to tackle the climate crisis.

“With regard to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act, as a creature of statute, CRU recognises that law is more powerful and more enduring than policy.”
— John Melvin

John Melvin

The pandemic has shown us that government can and will act to meet challenges. Governments and industry can fund the future challenges of the climate crisis but there must be a willingness to do so. The Covid threat was obvious, immediate, and terrible. Yet, the climate crisis is not similarly perceived in the minds of people in government. Individuals were willing to make dramatic changes to their lives, not just for the sake of their loved ones but for the sake of strangers. Today, in the hearts and minds of the citizenry, climate change is a threat to millions of strangers and if we were willing to take action to protect others during Covid then we can choose to do so in relation to climate.

Brian Leddin

The scale of change is so huge that we cannot underestimate the communication challenge. The concise messaging in relation to Covid-19 and the media’s role in communicating the challenge has not been applied to the climate crisis. The measures that Climate Action Plan 2021 and subsequent plans are going to require will face huge resistance in society and so, we must get the communication right. If we do not, then we will fail.

How can government and industry demonstrate leadership in transforming ambitions into action?

Tanya Harrington

An Post has put sustainability at the heart of what it does, built upon five specific sustainable development goals. Operating Ireland’s largest EV fleet, comprising over 1,000 electric vehicles and 100 electric trikes, An Post is providing emission-free deliveries in five cities. We will soon extend this to all of our cities, which will make us the first postal company in the world to have citywide zero carbon postal deliveries. Simultaneously, we use 100 per cent renewable energy in all of our buildings, we have zero waste to landfill, and our water usage has been reduced by 30 per cent compared with 2019. As a company, we are now focused on two things: firstly, developing our strategy to have net zero emissions by 2030 and secondly, developing our biodiversity strategy in tandem. As one of Ireland’s SDG champions, An Post is committed to sharing our learning and collaborating with government, as well as public and private sector organisations for the drive to sustainability.

Maria Ryan

The economy was seriously impacted over the last 18 months because of Covid. There is a real opportunity for a green recovery by unlocking private investment in renewable energy. It is a win-win for the economy, for the environment and for the capacity challenges that we are having. SSE Renewables is here and ready to deliver. We have a target of 2GW of offshore and 700MW of onshore by 2030, alongside an additional 1GW of offshore by 2035. If we take Arklow Bank, which is ready to be delivered by 2025, as an example, at its minimum capacity of 520MW, that is over €860 million GVA to the island of Ireland. Half of that will stay in Wicklow and north Wexford, creating 10,500 full-time equivalent years nationally and 4,800 of those will be local. In the construction phase, there will be hundreds of jobs followed by 80 full-time operations and maintenance roles. Arklow Harbour has been designated the operations and maintenance base, which is a welcome redevelopment for the area. Once it is generating, it will provide millions of euro in terms of community funding and once it is complete, it will power at least 500,000 homes and offset over 600,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. That is just one offshore project at its minimum.

John Melvin

The electricity industry has already demonstrated leadership in the sense that it has world leading instantaneous penetration of renewables for a very small island. In terms of the Climate Action Plan 2019, already we have had the first Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction. The transmission and distribution operators are funded and incentivised to ensure that the necessary wires and systems services can get in place. In terms of the services themselves, the markets to ensure that the system can handle increased renewable electricity are being progressed by the Single Electricity Market (SEM) Committee. Similarly, the SEM Committee is holding capacity auctions to ensure that we can have the vital backup power when it is needed. For the transition to succeed, people must be confident that we have a stable and secure electricity system. That means gas fired infrastructure will be built. A way to assist that happening is to have a clear national policy towards decarbonising the gas grid.

“We describe this as the race of a lifetime; the race to eliminate all emissions quickly enough to prevent complete climate breakdown and fairly enough to leave no one behind.”
— Oisín Coghlan

Oisín Coghlan

Clear and consistent communication from the Government is key to its leadership, as well as the key decisions required in the coming weeks. On the other hand, businesses should be vocal and proud of what they are doing to cut emissions and deliver on climate action. It is important to have business voices championing the fact that this is going to be good for communities and jobs. As well as all the innovation, research and development and investment that industry is undertaking. I do not think that we should be focused on decarbonising the gas grid because we risk locking ourselves into gas for far too long. Instead, the focus should be on decarbonising electricity.

“Historically, we have been very poor at community engagement and the reality is that if individuals or communities feel like they are being disenfranchised by climate action, then it will not work.”
— Brian Leddin

Brian Leddin

We have to be very careful that we do not lock in gas for the next 30 years. I really believe that we can decarbonise very quickly. That is something that was not apparent to most people until very recently. It is fascinating to look at how the discussions around the west coast opportunity have surfaced in the last 18 months. It was something I am proud of wedging into the Programme for Government. With respect to leadership, within politics and among senior positions in industry or media, I think personal responsibility applies. When people like myself speak, people listen, and we influence people. That certainly does have a role to play. The second point I would make is that to make progress here, we must have honest conversations and treat each other with respect. That is not to say that we cannot have robust debate. Friends of the Earth has led the way on this and anything it has ever done is underpinned by science. That is very important and if we lose that honest debate then things are going to be much harder for us.

John Melvin

Guided by the science and the current state of technology, it is clear that to have a secure transition, further gas fired plant will be needed at this stage.

How will COP26 catalyse a concerted and coherent effort to build the net zero carbon, climate resilient future?

Maria Ryan

SSE is delighted to be a principal partner for COP26, which fits into our vision of being a leading energy provider in a net-zero world. I do not think the importance of the Glasgow conference can be overstated. We are at a critical juncture, and we have run out of road. We must act now, or changes will start occurring that we have no control over. We have observed extreme weather events becoming more severe and more regular. We are short on time, so what we need to see emerge from COP26 is international leadership and global action to decarbonise.

Oisín Coghlan

I hope that COP26 will inject real momentum to action at a national level around the world, particularly with the return of the US to a position of active engagement on targets and plans for action which are commensurate with the Paris Agreement. However, there is one problem which is coming to a head. Again, we talked about public buy in and in the global climate debate, the importance of trust between the global north and the global south. I have concerns about the promises made around financing, never mind the promises made around emissions themselves. Promises made around financing in Paris have not materialised. That is undermining trust in the global south and hindering agreement.

John Melvin

In the context of the Covid pandemic, COP26 has a great opportunity to catalyse things that have almost crystalised in peoples’ consciousnesses. Covid required personal, local, national, and global responses. The global response to Covid-19 has not been great. Without an effective global response to the climate crisis, we will not succeed and the ‘I’m not really affected, why should I act when others don’t’ argument will re-emerge. Now is the time to catalyse on the common feeling of humanity, but simultaneously we need a global approach to Covid to illustrate the pathway that is required for climate action.

“For COP26 to be a long-term success, we must focus on protecting people as well as nature from the impact of climate change.”
— Seán Kelly

Seán Kelly

The UN climate conference in Glasgow must signal a turning point in our attempts to tackle the climate emergency. I am hopeful that COP26 will catalyse decisive action among the world’s nations to limit the average rise in global temperature to 1.5ºC. The need to act with urgency has never been clearer and action is needed in many vital areas, such as developing clean transport solutions, retrofitting our homes and the halting of deforestation. For COP26 to be a long-term success, we must focus on protecting people as well as nature from the impact of climate change. We need to focus on getting every part of society on board with this plan and securing the financial assistance to build a climate resilient future.

Roundtable participants

Oisín Coghlan

Oisín Coghlan has been Director of Friends of the Earth since 2005. He co-founded the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in 2007 and the Environmental Pillar in 2009 and led the 14-year campaign for a climate law which culminated in the passing of the Climate Action Act 2021. He is the current chair of Coalition 2030, the Irish civil society coalition for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Tanya Harrington

Tanya Harrington is the Chairperson of Renewable Energy Ireland. Tanya is a public policy and regulatory affairs professional with over 20 years’ experience in helping organisations drive the effectiveness and performance of their policy-focused teams. Tanya currently serves as An Post’s Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, leading the development of the Company’s comprehensive and integrated regulatory strategy and leading An Post’s engagement with government and regulatory authorities and stakeholders at international, European and domestic levels.

Brian Leddin

Brian Leddin is TD for Limerick City, Green Party spokesperson on Transport, Climate Action and the Environment, Chair of the Green Party in the Oireachtas and Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action. Before being elected to the Dáil, he worked as a mechanical engineer in Limerick and was a councillor on Limerick City and County Council. Brian is an engineering graduate of the University of Limerick and holds an MSc in renewable energy systems technology at Loughborough University.

John Melvin

John Melvin was appointed as the Director of Energy Markets and Smart Metering in CRU May 2018. Previously, he was Director of Energy Networks and Legal. John Melvin is responsible for overseeing all aspects of competition and consumer protection in the energy retail markets in Ireland and the wholesale all-island electricity market (SEM) in cooperation with the Utility Regulator in Belfast. John has responsibility for the overall coordination of the Smart Meter Upgrade Project.

Seán Kelly

Seán Kelly has been a Member of the European Parliament for Ireland South since 2009. He is the current leader of Fine Gael in the European Parliament, and part of the European People’s Party (EPP) Group. Seán sits on the European Parliament’s Committees on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), International Trade (INTA) and Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). Seán was also EPP Rapporteur for the Renewable Energy Directive, which included a target of 32 per cent renewable energy target by 2030. He is currently writing an Implementation Report on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Maria Ryan

Maria Ryan is Director of Development, Ireland at SSE Renewables, part of the FTSE-listed SSE plc and the leading developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy across Ireland and the UK. Maria has responsibility for development and construction of SSE Renewables’ pipeline of offshore and onshore wind energy projects around the island of Ireland. Maria has extensive experience having worked in the wind energy industry for 18 years, holding portfolio management roles across Airtricity, Mainstream Renewable Power and SSE Renewables. Maria is chartered engineer and a graduate of mechanical engineering from University College Dublin (UCD) with an MSc from UCD.